He did what

The shoulder block Jason Smith placed on Blake Griffin would make the NFL Saints proud, too bad Smith plays for the Hornets. All jokes aside there are a number of NBA players who probably think Griffin is showboating with his dunks. In addition nobody wants to be posterized, we must assume Smith was sending Griffin a message. In any event there is no call for that type of play in the NBA, as this is written no judgment has been issued by the league office. My best guess Smith receives a minimum 3 game suspension or max of 5 games plus a huge fine. I wrote the above prior to the NBA's announcement, all I can say is unbelievable! Andrew Bynum's flagrant 2 was somewhat identical to Smith's, he received a 5-game suspension. Bynum's was reduced to 3-games due to the late start of the season. All I can say is once again we cannot determine a David Stern move in advance.

Sharing

Over the years individuals I've come in contact with have made some incredibly strange and sometimes stupid comments about the NBA. I can't remember all of them but I will share a few. I never responded to the person but was really tempted to question them.

1. "You only need to see the last 10 minutes of an NBA game!" How about this walking into a baseball game in the 7th inning and discover the pitcher has a no-hitter. The individual would have missed all the action leading up to that inning. Okay another example turn on your television to the Chiefs game it's in the 3rd quarter and they are losing 24-0, what happened?

2. "They don't play any defense in the NBA!" That statement requires no response, just leave the room.

3. "I like the college game better" No argument with this person except ask them which game do they prefer, AAA baseball or the major league variety.

4. "I quite watching the NBA when Michael Jordan retired." I'm sitting here scratching my head trying to remember a sport I quite watching because one of my favorite players retired.

5. "The NBA is full of criminals!" This too requires no response other than to excuse your self and leave the room This person believes football, baseball, hockey and soccer players are never involved with the police or the judicial system.

School is in Session(s)

My apologies in advance for the headline above, I couldn't wait to use it as soon as Ramon Sessions had a
break-out game, he did just that. The Lakers newly acquired point guard was certainly a vital part of their victory over the Mavs 109-93. Sessions came off the bench was 7-8 from the floor, 3-4 from the 3-point line for 17 points. He had 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 turnovers in 29 minutes. The best line might be from Kobe Bryant, he was asked "what the addition of Ramon Sessions' means for the Lakers: I can be a legitimate 2-guard now." This guy's desire is to be a be a pass first point guard but one who can hit the shot when required. This is not intended to be a knock at Fisher, he served as a valued member of the Lakers for a number of years.

Change in the Northwest

The Blazers fired coach Nate McMillan the same day they waived 2007 number one draft pick Greg Oden. Injuries to Brandon Roy (since retired) and the oft-injured Greg Oden plus a succession of injuries to several players contributed to the teams downward slide. McMillan might not have been a bad coach but the aforementioned injuries and clubhouse issues worked against him. As for Oden he will become another footnote in Blazer and NBA history. They passed on 1984 draft pick Michael "Air" Jordan to choose 7-1 Sam Bowie, his career was forever dogged by injuries. And we know what occurred with the other guy the Bulls chose. Sound like a familiar story, the Blazers could have chosen Kevin Durant in 2007 instead they picked 7-0 Greg Oden. Durant's star continues to shine brightly, I would be reluctant to refer to him as a super star but he's might close. Oden still appears positive in interviews with him and his agent, he indicates he's going to work at rehab, a question might be asked of him what point do you give up? Oden's played 82 games the equivalent of one full NBA season since 2007-2008 season. Oden indicates he'd like to play for his hometown Pacers

The tidal wave has begun

Moe Harkless St. John's freshman has become the first underclassmen to declare for the NBA June draft. I wasn't familiar with Harkless, haven't seen him play so I'll just do the numbers. Harkless is 6-8 208 pound small forward, 15.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 45.2%. Harkless is on the NBA's radar, he's projected as nbadraft.net's number 16 pick in the first round draftexpress.com has him at 20 in the second round. Chad Ford of ESPN reports Iowa State's "do everything forward" Royce White will officially declare for the draft. The down side today's NBA appears sometimes reluctant to draft 6-9 power forwards which is White's height. He can't do anything about his height, other areas of his game are pretty good. He handles the ball especially well for a big man, I'm unsure but I think he might have led the team in assists. Other than the height issue White is a "Shaq/Dwight Howard" free throw shooter. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, 6-7 228 small forward has announced too. The ESPN source said "he knows he's going to be a top-5 pick." That information would appear to be correct, draftexpress.com has him at 3 and nbadraft.net has him at 4. Late Friday Duke's Austin Rivers also announced he was leaving Duke after only one year.  I'm going to refrain from reporting names until the list is complete.   (ESPN.com)